1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a production machine for pre-slicing or perforating of baked goods such as muffins, buns and the like in a controlled manner.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has long been recognized that consumers generally prefer pre-sliced or perforated muffins or similar baked goods because slicing by hand causes an inconvenience to the consumer and very often uneven slices are made so that, particularly when toasting the sliced muffins, the muffin will either not fit into a conventional toaster aperture or the product may be charred in one part and underdone in another. Machines for pre-slicing or perforating muffins and similar products are described in the prior art but they are usually complex in structure and often pre-slice or perforate the baked product in an unsatisfactory manner. For example, Swedish Pat. No. 145,284 (1961) discloses a rusk roll slicing device that splits the roll into two separate and distinct pieces and then separates the top half of the roll from the bottom half to complete the split for delivery of both halves as separate units to the consumer. U.S. Pat. No. 2,979,095 (1961) also shows a fully automatic muffin splitting machine which likewise delivers a separated muffin to the consumer. U.S. Pat. No. 3,733,942 (1973) discloses a muffin perforating machine but does not provide for pre-slicing of muffins or similar baked goods. U.S. Pat. 3,669,165 (1972) describes a machine for making pre-sliced English muffins wherein the muffin is pre-sliced by means of a plurality of series arranged rotating cutter disks so that the slicing of the muffin is made in a series of successive cuts, this device being complicated in structure and expensive to manufacture and, because the muffins must pass through a series of rotating blades, often resulting in uneven slices.
There is, then, an obvious need in the marketplace for a production muffin slicer and perforator that is economical to manufacture and that will produce a uniformly pre-sliced or perforated muffin for use by the consumer.